Meditation after Keats

When I have fears that I will cease to live,
That I  will rust before I've truly shone,
That I have taken more than I could give
From people I have loved, who now are gone.

When I look back on everything we've lost,
On opportunities that have passed by,
It's difficult to face, and count the cost
Of ignorance in youth, and not to cry.

And when I look upon the scars of Earth,
With many people fighting on it's stage,
And feel that wisdom seems to have no worth,
Coming too soon for youth, too late for age.

Then on the floor I sit crossed legged in peace,
'Till troubles of the world recede and cease.

Sylvia Stevens